5/16/19: Birdies at KC's Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

After visiting Kansas City's touching Vietnam Memorial, Steven and I drove to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art which is internationally famous for its extensive collection of art spanning millennia from all corners of the globe. 

I had no idea beforehand, though, that the museum also had a superb collection of art outside the museum. George Richey was an accomplished American kinetic sculptor whose work was inspired by the mobiles of Alexander Calder. I read that Richey's simple, stainless steel forms were activated and balanced by a system of meticulously engineered counterweights and bearings, air currents and the pull of gravity.

Being a proud Canadian, I couldn't resist taking a photo of this totem pole!

A Swedish-born couple who relocated to the US were asked to design a sculpture in 1994 for the museum. I loved that they responded to the formality of the neoclassical building and the huge green expanse out front by imagining the museum as a badminton net and the lawn as a playing field! The pair placed each of four birdies or shuttlecocks, with each weighing 5,500 pounds, as if they had just landed on opposite ends of the 'net.' We made a point of discovering where the others were after touring the museum.

Black Land, Red Land: Even after we had spent a longish time in several places in Egypt a few years ago, I didn't remember ever knowing that the Egyptians had named their land Kemet or Black Land which referred to the rich dark soil immediately on either side of the Nile River. Beyond the rich valley was the desert or what the Egyptians called Deshret or Red Land.

The inhospitable region helped buffer Egypt against invaders which, in addition to the fertile soil, resulted in helping Egypt to thrive for thousands of years. The wealth and continuity of Egyptian civilization helped support the development of great art. It has endured for us all to enjoy because much of the art was intended for the eternal use of the deceased. It was therefore buried with them in the nearby desert which meant it has often remained well preserved and much as it first looked. 

This lovely relief was called Winged Genie Fertilizing a Date Tree as dates were prized as a nutritious and easily preserved fruit. Look at the remarkable detail in the second photo.

This mid 4th century BC Grave Stele was found near Athens. Ancient Greek cemeteries were filled with as much art as many modern museums as some of the best Greek artists carved elaborate tombstones and grave markers to celebrate the deceased. 

Roman to Romanesque: At its height, the Roman Empire stretched from modern-day England to Iraq, from the Danube to the Nile Rivers. The empire's art therefore wasn't uniform but reflected differing local art traditions. By the late 5th century, the continued onslaught of land-hungry barbarians and frequent internal struggles ended the Roman Empire in western Europe. 

As the empire's trade and prosperity declined, a more feudal society came into effect until economic prosperity and political stability began to return to western Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries. During this Romanesque period, Christianity was the patron of European arts and, for the next 200 years, the Catholic Church embarked on a massive building program consisting of new monastic orders and to house pilgrims who traveled long distances to see saints' relics. 

Even though Steven will jokingly swear we'd stopped at every church on our long trip through much of South America a couple of years ago and also in Spain last fall, neither of us wanted to miss this early 15th century masterpiece from Spain, Altarpiece with Scenes from the Life of the Virgin. Known in Spanish as a retablo, that meant it was composed of multiple scenes related to a single theme. This one was about the life of the Virgin Mary. 

Peering through the openings of this Medieval Cloister from an early 14th century Augustinian monastery brought back so many great memories from our trip last fall where we were so lucky to come across so many cloisters. A cloister was almost always open to the sky and functioned as both an exercise yard and a garden where herbs and medicinal plants were grown and often had a well in its center.

Surrounding the cloister were beautiful stained-glass windows called Scenes from the Infancy Cycle that came from a church in northeastern France. 

The mid 16th century Armor for Man and Horse came from northern Italy and, because they were very expensive ensembles, could only have been owned by wealthy, aristocratic soldiers. As craftsmen in Milan and Brescia dominated plate armor production in the 15th century, they exported armor across the continent. 

I can't begin to count all the museums we've been in all around the world but only the Nelson-Atkins had materials to keep kids interested in many exhibits as well as seats for older people to relax on for a spell.

Something else that caught my attention at the museum was their exhibit on Nazi-Looted Art and Restitution as I'd never seen anything like that before despite reading about the serious issue. The museum asked us to think if we'd ever wondered about the origins of our favorite works of art - their provenance history and how they end up in a museum. The museum's provenance research helped staff know that nothing in the collection was previously stolen or lost and not returned to its owner. This was especially important when researching an object's ownership history during the Nazi era. 

The 1715 painting, Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, was stolen by the Nazis from Jewish collectors Alphonse and Clarice von Rothschild to be part of the Fuhrermuseum, a museum of the world's greatest art Hitler hoped to build in his hometown of Linz, Austria. At the end of the war, Allied troops found this and other works in an Austrian salt mine and returned it to the Rothschilds in 1947. When the family sold it to an art dealer in New York in 1954, the museum bought it that same year.

The stolen Still Life with Guelder Roses was also found in the same Austrian salt mine before being returned to its owner whose heirs sold it to Kansas City collectors who then donated it to the museum. 

Works by Domenikos Theotokopoulos aka El Greco included The Penitent Magdalene. 

The early 18th century ivory Fall of the Rebel Angels was a museum showstopper. Its astonishing display of technical skill was just gorgeous. The artist represented the Holy Trinity at the top; in the center St. Michael is shown brandishing his sword and a team of archangels drives Satan's host from heaven. 

At the bottom right, the rebel angels plummet towards hell below symbolized by the monster with the gaping mouth.

Given a chance, Steven and I are always drawn to Impressionist works by Claude Monet so were happy to see the museum's striking collection of French art. 

In 1893 Monet bought land near his property in Giverny, France, dug a pond and turned it into a Japanese-inspired water garden. That served as an inspiration for a series of paintings from 1901 to 1926. Water Lilies was created as part of a triptych composed of three identically-sized panels intended "to produce a soothing meditative experience for its viewers."

Having just visited Amsterdam about six months earlier at the tail end of our long trip to mostly Central Asia, I loved seeing these pieces by the Dutch artist, Vincent van Gogh.

Paul Gaugin's The Willow Tree:

Paul Cezanne's Man with a Pipe: 

As Edgar Degas is normally associated with his idyllic paintings of female dancers, I was a tad surprised this sculpture of Little Dancer Aged Fourteen was also by the renowned artist. When the work was shown at the 1881 Impressionism Exhibition, some critics called it "monstrously ugly" while others praised its realistic portrayal of a teenage girl.

I had read that the museum was widely celebrated for its extensive collection of Asian art, especially that of Imperial China. Most of it was purchased for the museum in the early 20th century. Steven and I were attracted to the late 18th century The Four Seasons made of marble from Dali in southwestern China. I learned that for over a thousand years, craftsmen in Dali sliced marble, prized for its striking natural patterns resembling landscapes, into thin sheets that were then framed to hang in homes of wealthy people. 

Even though we still have two more international trips coming up this year, we've already made a lot of headway planning a long trip to Asia beginning March 1st. As it will include stops in both Bhutan and Tibet in April, the museum's exhibits on Traditions in Tibetan Buddhism were very timely. 

Who could not draw peace from admiring the white marble Buddha Seated on a Lotus Base from the Chinese Qi dynasty that lasted from 550-577?

The museum also had a pretty extensive collection of Japanese art. Among Japan's greatest artistic creations were painted folding screens used to divide and decorate rooms. As our trip to Asia next spring will end in Japan in June, I hope we will see then far more screens and other forms of Japanese art.

The Nelson-Atkins also had a collection of over 200 works of native art from throughout North America. One of the highlights for me was this 1920 Toy Cradle and Doll made out of willow, pigment, mohair, wool, feathers and dried plant material. I am sure our daughters, Nina and Natalie, would have loved it when they were younger. 

I would have loved to caress the Carrara marble 1987 untitled sculpture by Oklahoma Apache artist Allan Houser. 

Thought it was interesting, I did NOT want to come any closer to the clay and pigment Human Head Effigy Jar that dated to 1350-1550 and was discovered at a Chisckasawba site in Arkansas!

Never in any previous museum had I seen anything like Our Lady of the Rosary from colonial New Mexico.

I asked Steven to pose by the 1876 painting of Stonehenge as we hope to visit England's most famous prehistoric site when we're in Britain from late August to early October this year. 

The stairwell had two marvelous Flemish tapestries that I loved. I have been wanting to visit Belgium for years but as we've already planned next year's trips, it will have to wait until at least 2021!

We capped off our visit to the museum's interior by gazing in its splendid Rozelle Court that also served as a restaurant. 

The grounds of the museum had a 22 acre Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park which was home to the nation's largest collection of monumental bronze sculptures! Bet you recognize The Thinker by Auguste Rodin.

What a striking view from the 'net' to the back field where we saw two more shuttlecocks.

Judith Shea worked as a fashion designer before making figurative sculptures, which was a radical idea in the avante-garde world of abstract art. Storage included a hollow coat and dress, motifs she frequently uses in her work.

The museum's sculpture park began as the Henry Moore Sculpture Garden in 1989. This piece was called Reclining Figure: Hand.

I especially liked his Upright Motive No. 9 as it wasn't as bulky as most of his works.

I don't think it's an exaggeration at all to say a trip to Kansas City would be incomplete without spending a couple of hours at its first class Nelson-Atkins Museum. I was amazed that a museum in America's heartland had such a top notch comprehensive collection of art that is sure to please any taste. Amazingly, it was free to enter, too!

Next post: Touring Harry Truman's boyhood home in Lamar, Missouri.

Posted on July 27th, 2019, from toasty Littleton, Colorado.